Let’s Fly A Kite
1-5 p.m. March 30
On Saturday, the American Legion Auxiliary of JCPrice Unit 107 is sponsoring a Kite-Flying Day to celebrate the March winds. Held at 1433 Old Wilkesboro Road. Bring your kite and have some fun together! To learn more, call 704-636-9139.

 

The Jeff Little Trio with Catawba College’s Vernacular Artists
7:30 p.m. March 30

“Jeff Little never fails to convey his love for his region’s music and his love of performing it. The keys of his piano evoke old-time fiddle tunes, traditional blues, country classics, and folk. His energy is infectious: clapping hands, patting feet, and sold-out rooms are typical fare for Jeff Little.” — Mountain Home Music
Catawba College Music Department hosts a Vernaculars Concert to join Jeff and his group to finish out this amazing musical experience. 7:30 p.m. March 30: Tickets $17.55. Lee Street theatre, 329 N Lee St, 704-310-5507, Leestreet.org

 

Edwin McCain concert at the Cabarrus Arena
8 p.m. April 6

Music Benefit Show by Local Firefighters Association. $30. For details, contact Local Firefighters Association, 704-331-9075. Parking $5 per car. Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, 4751 NC 49, Concord, 704-920-3976, www.cabarrusarena.com

 

HSF Annual Meeting
7-9 p.m. April 11
Dessert reception to follow
Special guest speaker is Kristy Woodson Harvey.
To reserve a spot, RSVP to 704-636-0103.

 

Salisbury STEM Showcase
11 a.m.-2  p.m. April 6
Free event for Families at Horizons Unlimited. STEM Fun in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math leads to enthusiastic exploration of your world.
STEM includes tinkering, makerspaces, robotics, coding, circuitry, and more.
The community is invited to attend this event where students and staff from Isenberg, Overton, Knox, and Salisbury High School will provide hands-on fun and snacks.  Enjoy the NC Science Festival, planetarium shows, nature walks, and more.
Horizons Unlimited, 1636 Parkview Circle. Park and enter at the rear, accessible from Lilly Ave. See Facebook or www.rss.k12.nc.us/index.php

 

‘The Ways We Keep Our Stories
10 a.m. April 9
Submitted

You have heard the old saying “great minds think alike.” St. John’s has begun a collaboration with Catawba College to provide interesting speakers on a variety of continuing education topics, held at St. John’s.
The first program is a community forum titled “The Picture Man and a Conversation about the Ways We Keep Our Stories,” at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9 at St. John’s Lutheran in the Faith Life Center Sanctuary off W. Innes Street.
Author Julia Ebel, Catawba College alumna from the Class of 1972, will lead a discussion inspired by her children’s book, “The Picture Man,” which is based on historical facts about “picture men.” During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these traveling photographers moved through rural areas and small towns in North Carolina, sometimes with a collection of props, taking pictures of children, families and individuals. Their work helped preserve each family’s history and in effect, each family’s stories.
“I write to call out stories that bridge us to our roots, to memories of times past and persons who have nurtured us and shaped our lives,” Ebel says.
She draws readers of all ages into an appreciation of history, heritage, and nature through her stories, biographies, and poems. The stories she keeps begin with the people, the culture, and the landscape of her native North Carolina.
Ebel shares that she has “honed” her writing skills for more than 30 years and has nine books to her credit that “invite sharing between generations,” each “about keeping our stories — not just mine, but yours too.” She also writes poetry, some of which appear as free verse in historical fiction and in her biography of Max Woody, a North Carolina traditional chair maker.
Ebel conducts poetry and writing workshops is often tapped to present programs on keeping stories. When she is not writing, she tutors and has taught children’s literature and language classes at Guilford Technical Community College. Although she makes her home in Jamestown, she notes that part of her heart is in the North Carolina mountains where she finds inspiration for much of her writing.

St. John’s will provide coffee and water in Peeler Hall, outside of the Faith Life Center Sanctuary, at 9:30 a.m. in advance of Ebel’s 10 a.m. presentation. Ebel, who has developed a study guide for “The Picture Man,” will share the importance of preserving a family’s history and some ways to do that through fun, collaborative, multi-generational activities such as making a pinhole camera from a shoebox. She will also have copies of her books for sale and will be available to sign them following her presentation.
Persons attending are invited to bring along an old photograph or two. As discussion explores the importance of our own photographs, these might provide some inspiration for your own thought and personal exploration. Bring a pen and notepad.
This forum is free and open to the public.

 

Surry Fiddlers Convention celebrates 10th Year
April 5-6
Submitted
DOBSON — A decade ago, the Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention was created to keep alive the region’s old time music tradition. Organizers are preparing for the 10th edition on April 5-6 at Surry Community College to achieve that mission.
The Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention kicks off on Friday night with a traditional community dance featuring two well-known old time bands from the region. This year’s dance, at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 5, will have Mountain Park Old Time Band performing for the fourth time and Whitetop Mountain Band making its second appearance.
Saturday’s youth competitions are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and adult competitions are 3-6:30 p.m., followed by band competitions at 7 p.m. Individual categories include fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, folk song and dance, as well as a new category this year for fiddle/banjo duets.
“In the early 1900s before guitars were popular, quite often the dances would have a fiddler-banjo duet,” Buckner says. “This is something we probably should have been doing since day one and as we’ve put the word out, people agree that it’s a great idea.”
Paul Brown returns this year to conduct the banjo workshop Saturday afternoon. Brown, who lives in Winston-Salem, is an award-winning musician, journalist and former NPR radio host.
Caroline Beverley of Elkin leads the guitar workshop. Beverley teaches guitar at the Junior Appalachian Musicians program in Sparta and at Surry Community College. The fiddle workshop is headed by well-known fiddler Richard Bowman of the Slate Mountain Ramblers.
Admission is $5 daily, with children 12 and younger admitted at no charge. Contestants get in free Saturday.
To learn more, call 336-366-4034 or visit www.surryoldtime.com
Held at Surry Community College, about 90 minutes from Salisbury.